TL;DR: Hunter x Hunter is on hiatus again. Weekly Shonen Jump issue 41, out Monday, September 7, 2026, announced that Yoshihiro Togashi's manga stops after chapter 420, ten chapters after its late-June return, with no comeback date. The same day, a fourth stage play was announced: the Chimera Ant arc, split into two parts, in Tokyo and Kyoto in 2027.
Why is Hunter x Hunter going on hiatus after chapter 420?
Because the batch of chapters Togashi had prepared has run out. Weekly Shonen Jump issue 41 runs chapter 420 with a banner stating the series "will announce its return at a later date," the magazine's standard wording for an open-ended hiatus. The run had started on June 28, 2026 with chapter 411: ten chapters later, curtain.
This is neither a surprise nor bad news in disguise. Since 2016, Togashi has worked in bursts: he stockpiles chapters at his own pace, the magazine publishes them in one block, then the series vanishes while he prepares the next batch. The author, whose back problems have been documented for years and who underwent surgery in December 2024, keeps readers posted on his progress on X, page by page. We covered how this medical serial works in our piece on Hunter x Hunter's return and volume 38: two years on, the pattern repeats itself exactly.
Gon in the trailer for VIZ Media's Set 7 box. In the manga, the series pauses mid Succession War, the arc aboard the ship to the Dark Continent.
How many chapters came out in 2026, and where can you read them?
Ten chapters, numbered 411 to 420, published from June 28 to September 7, 2026 in Weekly Shonen Jump, with a single week off in mid-August for the magazine's summer break. That is exactly the format of the previous bursts: the unspoken deal between Togashi and his readers, ten chapters whenever his body allows it.
To read them legally, Shueisha's MANGA Plus app and site publish every chapter simultaneously with Japan and keep the latest three free to read, in English and Spanish among other languages. In the US, VIZ Media's Shonen Jump app carries them too. Volume 39 came out in Japan on July 3, 2026, twenty-two months after volume 38, and collects chapters 401 to 410 from the previous burst. Chapters 411 to 420 will fill a future volume 40, which has no date.
One number puts all this in perspective: when volume 39 shipped, Oricon reported the series had passed 100 million copies in circulation, the twelfth Shueisha series to clear that bar. For a manga that has spent more time paused than publishing over the past decade, that is a one-of-a-kind case in the industry.
When will the manga come back?
Nobody knows, not even Jump. No date, no window, no commitment: just the promise of an announcement in due course. The only reliable indicator is the pace of previous returns, and it calls for patience: since 2018, the series has never come back in under a year and a half.
| Run | Chapters | Wait until the next burst |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 341 to 350 | about 1 year |
| 2017 | 351 to 360 | 4 months |
| 2018 | 361 to 370, then 371 to 390 | 4 years |
| 2022 | 391 to 400 | about 2 years |
| 2024-2025 | 401 to 410 | 16 months |
| 2026 | 411 to 420 | ongoing, no date |
One reason for optimism all the same: according to the progress updates Togashi posts on X, as relayed by the specialist press, chapters 421 to 423 are reportedly finished, with work underway, at varying stages, up to around chapter 430. Part of the next return already exists. And while its veteran catches his breath, Jump is grooming its successor: the Kagurabachi anime, the magazine's other phenomenon, lands in April 2027.
What is this Chimera Ant stage play?
The other September 7 announcement, and it takes much of the sting out of the first one. HUNTER×HUNTER THE STAGE 4, the fourth play based on the manga, will adapt the Chimera Ant arc in two parts: the first from January to February 2027, the second from July to August 2027, in Tokyo and Kyoto. It is the first time the play series splits one arc across two shows, and the first time it visits Kyoto instead of Osaka.
For now the play's website shows the logo, the dates and the cities, nothing more: no cast, no specific theaters, no confirmed director as of September 7. Given the arc, casting questions will keep the community busy for months: who plays Meruem, who plays Neferpitou, and how do you put half-human, half-insect characters on a stage. The previous plays met that kind of challenge with wigs and costumes faithful enough to serve as references for cosplayers, which is no coincidence: it is the same craft.
Click the image to watch VIZ Media's trailer for the Set 5 box, where the Chimera Ant arc begins with Kite. That is the stretch of the story the play will have to carry on stage.
How did the first three Hunter x Hunter plays go?
Three shows in three years, working through the manga in order. The first play, in May 2023 at Tokyo's Tennozu Galaxy Theater, covered the Hunter Exam. The second, in March and April 2024 across Tokyo and Osaka, adapted the Yorknew City arc with the full Phantom Troupe. The third, in May and June 2025, took on Greed Island.
| Play | Arc adapted | Dates | Cities |
|---|---|---|---|
| THE STAGE | Hunter Exam | May 2023 | Tokyo |
| THE STAGE 2 | Yorknew City (Phantom Troupe) | March-April 2024 | Tokyo, Osaka |
| THE STAGE 3 | Greed Island | May-June 2025 | Tokyo, Osaka |
| THE STAGE 4 | Chimera Ant, in two parts | January-February, then July-August 2027 | Tokyo, Kyoto |
Click the image to watch the 2023 first play's commercial: Kurapika, Gon, Killua and Leorio in costumes modeled straight on the manga.
The creative team provides the continuity: Akira Yamazaki has written and directed all three shows, and Nichika Akutsu has played Killua in every one of them. Gon changed actors in 2025, with Rento Nishiyama taking over the role from Shion Otomo, who held it in the first two plays. On stage as at conventions, the Phantom Troupe remains the most cosplayed group in the license: if Yorknew speaks to you more than the ants do, we sell the Phantom Troupe t-shirt at 25.99 EUR, rated 4.6/5 across 20 reviews, and Chrollo's earrings at 16.99 EUR, rated 5/5 across 11 reviews, the exact cross the Troupe's leader wears.
Click the image to watch THE STAGE 3's digest: the Greed Island dodgeball scene, numbered ball included. The second play's digest is also up on the play's YouTube channel.
THE STAGE 3's key visual: Gon, Killua, Biscuit and Hisoka over the Greed Island map. The level of costume work explains why these plays double as cosplay references.
Why is the Chimera Ant arc such a big deal for a stage play?
Because it is the manga's peak, and its hardest stretch to adapt. The arc spans volumes 18 to 30, thirteen books, the longest in the series: an invasion of man-eating insects that turns into a political tragedy, with Meruem, the Ant King, as the most memorable antagonist Togashi has written. The 2011 anime gave it 61 episodes, from 76 to 136, including Netero's fight and a final face-off many consider the best stretch of the whole show.
It is also the arc that transforms Killua: Godspeed, Illumi's needle, Alluka. On the shop side, we know exactly what that does: our Killua Zoldyck wig at 29.99 EUR, rated 4.8/5 across 9 reviews, sells in waves every time the arc is back in the conversation, and a two-part stage play is about to give it eighteen months of visibility. To catch up before 2027, the 2011 anime streams on Crunchyroll in most countries, or in VIZ Media's box sets, including Set 6, the Royal Palace one.
Killua in Godspeed in the Set 6 trailer. Good luck to the play's wig maker recreating this scene in 2027.
Until the manga returns, there is a volume 40 to wait for, two shows to follow from abroad through the play's accounts, and years of material to reread. And if the news made you want to dust off your con outfit, our cosplay section covers most Jump licenses, Hunter x Hunter included.
Frequently asked questions
When does Hunter x Hunter chapter 421 come out?
No date has been announced. Weekly Shonen Jump issue 41 of September 7, 2026 only says the return date will be communicated later. Togashi's progress updates on X suggest chapters 421 to 423 are already finished, but recent waits between bursts have run from 16 months to 4 years.
Where can you read chapter 420 legally?
On MANGA Plus, Shueisha's app and website, which publish chapters simultaneously with Japan and keep the latest three free, in English and Spanish among other languages. In the US, VIZ Media's Shonen Jump app carries them too. Print volumes are published by VIZ Media in English.
Does Hunter x Hunter volume 40 have a date?
No. Volume 39, released in Japan on July 3, 2026, collects chapters 401 to 410. This summer's chapters 411 to 420 will fill volume 40, but Shueisha has given no date. As a benchmark, 22 months separated volumes 38 and 39.
Will THE STAGE 4 be viewable outside Japan?
Nothing is announced yet, but there is an encouraging precedent: the first two plays streamed free on YouTube for one weekend in March 2025, and the shows get Blu-ray releases in Japan. A paid international stream, however, has never been offered for this play series.
Is a new Hunter x Hunter anime planned?
No, no new anime is announced as of September 7, 2026. The most recent adaptation remains Madhouse's 2011 series, 148 episodes ending with the Election arc, covering the manga up to roughly volume 32. The Chimera Ant arc fills episodes 76 to 136.
Has Togashi already written what comes next?
Partly, yes. The author has documented his progress on X since 2022, and his latest updates, relayed by the specialist press, indicate chapters 421 to 423 are finalized and work is underway up to around chapter 430, at varying stages of completion.
Images: announcement visuals and key visuals ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) 1998-2026 / Shueisha, HUNTER×HUNTER THE STAGE; anime trailer thumbnails ©POT/Shueisha, Nippon TV, VAP, NAS, Madhouse, via VIZ Media.
